I give you my eyes to see as you do.

Prayers + Reflections I give you my tongue to speak your words.

for use in form periods I give you my mind that you may think in me.
I give you my spirit that you may pray in me.
Above all,
I give you my heart that you may love in me
Traditional Prayers your Father and all mankind.
I give you my whole self that you may grow in me,
so that it is you, Lord Jesus,
Our Father who live and work and pray in me.

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name. The Angelus
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
on earth as it is in heaven. R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Give us this day our daily bread, Hail Mary, etc.
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
who trespass against us. R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.
And lead us not into temptation, Hail Mary, etc.
but deliver us from evil.
Amen. V. And the Word was made Flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, etc.
Hail Mary
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
Hail Mary, full of grace, R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women, Let us pray.
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom
Holy Mary, Mother of God, the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel,
pray for us, sinners, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection.
now and at the hour of our death. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Amen.
Daily Offering
Apostles’ Creed
O Jesus, through the most pure heart of Mary,
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, I offer you the prayers, works, sufferings and joys of this day,
Creator of heaven and earth; in union with your most Sacred Heart,
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; in reparation for our offences,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and for all your other intentions in offering yourself a sacrifice for us.
born of the Virgin Mary, Amen.
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell; Holy Spirit prayer
the third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven, Come, Holy Spirit
and is seated at the right hand of God, Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful,
the Father Almighty; and enkindle in them the fire of your love.
From thence He shall come Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created
to judge the living and the dead. And you shall renew the face of the earth.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, O God, who has taught the hearts of the faithful
the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, by the light of the Holy Spirit,
the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen. grant that by the gift of the same Spirit
we may be always truly wise
and ever rejoice in his consolation.
Salve Regina Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hail holy Queen, Mother of mercy,

our life, our sweetness, and our hope. The Anima Christi
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To thee do we send up our sighs, Soul of Christ sanctify me
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Body of Christ save me
Turn then, most gracious Advocate, Blood of Christ inebriate me
thine eyes of mercy toward us. Water from the side of Christ wash me
And after this our exile Passion of Christ strengthen me
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O good Jesu hear me
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Amen. Within thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from thee
V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God. From the malicious enemy defend me
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come to thee
That with thy saints I may praise thee
The Grail Prayer For ever and ever.
Amen.
Lord Jesus,
I give you my hands to do your work.
I give you my feet to go your way.
Prayer for the Sick
God of love, ever caring, ever strong,
stand by us in our time of need.
Watch over N who is sick,
look after him/her in every danger,
and grant him/her your healing and peace.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Amen.
Prayer for the Dead
Eternal rest grant to him/her/them, O Lord.
Let perpetual light shine upon him/her/them.
May he/she/they rest in peace.
Amen.
Prayer for Remembrance Day - November 11th
They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,
and in the morning,
we will remember them.
We will remember them
(A two minute silence follows.)
Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord.
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.
Prayers of saints + religious writers
Prayer for Generosity
Dearest Lord, teach me to be generous,
teach me to serve you as I should,
To give and not to count the cost,
To fight and not to heed the wounds,
To toil and not to seek for rest,
To labour and ask not for reward,
Save that of knowing that I do your most holy will.
Amen.
(St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order)
Make me an instrument of your peace
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console,
To be understood, as to understand,
To be loved, as to love,
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
(St Francis of Assisi)
We are Christ’s body
Christ has
No body now on earth but yours;
No hands but yours;
No feet but yours;
Yours are the eyes through which is
to look out Christ's compassion to the world;
Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good;
Yours are the hands with which He is to bless people now.
Amen.
(St. Teresa of Avila)
God be in my head
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at my end, and at my departing.
Amen.
(from a Mediaeval Primer)
Jesus, our guide
Be, Lord Jesus, a bright flame before me,
a guiding star above me, a smooth path below me,
a kindly shepherd behind me:
today, tonight, and forever.
(St. Columba)
The Serenity Prayer
God grant me
the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
(Reinhold Niebuhr)
Serving God
To give and not to count the cost
Teach us, good Lord,
to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labour and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do your will. Amen.
(St. Ignatius Loyola)
Day by day
Thanks be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits which you have given me,
for all the pains and insults which you have borne for me.
O most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,
may I know you more clearly,
love you more dearly,
and follow you more nearly,
day by day.
(St. Richard of Chichester)
Handing over to God
Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me
and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul:
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord,
and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands
without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.
(St. Charles de Foucauld)
 give water for their thirst.
When I am sad
Seeking Christ someone to lift from sorrow.
When burden weighs upon me
Seeking you, the Christ, is discovering lay upon my shoulders
that you already loved us and we did not know it. the burden of my fellows.
Through the Gospel, you enable us Lord, when I stand
to catch a glimpse of how to love you, greatly in need of tenderness,
right into our innermost solitude. give someone who yearns for love.
Happy those who surrender themselves to you. May your will be my bread;
Happy those who approach you your grace my strength;
in trust of heart, source of serene joy. your love my resting place.
(Brother Roger of Taizé) (from “Quaker Prayer Service”)
Knowing, loving and serving you

Eternal God, Thanksgiving for the earth

who are the light of the minds that know you,
the joy of the hearts that love you, God,
and the strength of the wills that serve you; we thank you for this earth
grant us so to know you which you have made full of riches.
that we may truly love you, We ask you to help us be good caretakers of your gifts.
and so to love you Show us how to use our science and technology
that we may fully serve you, in creative, not destructive ways.
whom to serve is perfect freedom, Help us to realise our relationships with all of your creation
in Jesus Christ our Lord. so that the earth will always bring forth life to nourish us in body and in spirit.
(St. Augustine) Through Christ who died for all creation.
Amen.
(Cafod prayer)
Prayer for the needy

Watch, Lord, with those who wake, or watch or weep tonight,

and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Miscellaneous prayers
Tend your sick ones, O Lord Jesus Christ;
rest your weary ones; bless your dying ones;
soothe your suffering ones; pity your afflicted ones; Prayer for Our School
shield your joyous ones.
And all for your love's sake. Loving Father,
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, Bless our school.
have mercy on me a sinner. Bless our work and our recreation,
Amen. our studies and our sport,
(St. Augustine) our music and our art.
May we grow in the knowledge of you,
that we may love what is worth loving
Take, Lord know what is worth knowing,
value that which is most pleasing to you
Take, Lord, all my liberty. dislike what is evil in your eyes
Receive my memory, my understanding, use true judgement in pursuit of the truth,
and my whole will. and come at last to the clear vision of you
Whatever I have and possess, in your heavenly kingdom
you have given to me; where you live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.
to you I will restore it wholly,
and to your will
I utterly surrender it for my direction. Prayer before Examinations
Give me the love of you only, with your grace,
and I shall be rich enough; Almighty God and Father,
nor do I ask anything besides, please help us in our examinations.
(St. Ignatius Loyola) Help us to face them with courage,
steady in nerves and keen in mind.
Help us to understand the questions that are asked,
to remember all that we have studied,
Thinking of God and to express our answers accurately.
Lord, grant us success, if success is good for us,
When the thought of you wakens in us For you know what is best for each one of us.
God our heavenly Father, With loving trust therefore we say,
when the thought of you "Whatever the results, blessed be your holy will."
wakes in our hearts, We make this prayer in Jesus’ name.
let its awakening Amen.
not be like a startled bird
that flies about in fear.
Instead, let it be like a child Open my eyes and ears
waking from sleep
with a heavenly smile. Lord Jesus,
(Søren Kierkegaard) I ask you to open my eyes
as you did with the blind man, (Jn 9)
so that I may really see.
Friendship Tune my ears as you did with the man who was deaf and dumb, (Mk 7:31-37) so
that I may really hear what you are saying to me.
Lord, when I am hungry May the many experiences of my senses remind me to be aware of others and of
give me someone to feed; all that is around me.
when I am thirsty May all that I experience lead me closer to you.
Amen. • Conclude by suggesting that pupils now go away and try this
method of reflection in other areas of their life, or as a way of looking at life in
general.
Christ in my sleeping

Lord, you mark when I walk or lie down; Our gifts

all my ways lie open to you. Ps 1391-3
When I cease activity, In this world there are so many people with so many gifts. For all of these, Lord,
calm my mind. we thank you. All of us have so much that only we can offer to others but we
When I am by myself, aren't always aware of this. Help us to see and understand the gifts that you have
be my companion and friend. given to us, that we may enjoy them ourselves and share them with others.
When I am weary and heavily laden, Amen.
may your Spirit renew me.
When I lie down, may it be in peace
for sleep to heal and refresh me, Understanding Jesus
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety. Ps 49 Father, be with us as we seek to understand more about who Jesus is. Open our
Watch my sleeping, eyes and hearts to the meaning of his life, death and resurrection. As we come to
guard my waking, understand more about Jesus, may we learn more about our own place in
be always near. creation.
Amen. Amen.

Those who are sick, afraid, worried Use of power

Lord Jesus, Think about the many people in the world

we ask you to bring your healing touch who don't have power;
to those whom we know who cannot make the rules, but have to obey.
to be sick, afraid, or worried.
Bring them your peace and healing. All of us know what it is like to have to do what we are told - even when it is
Amen. good for us!

All of us, too, know what it is like to have power over others - even if it's only a
For someone who has died younger child! All of us know that, as we grow older, our power will increase -
we will make the rules.
Loving Father,
to you the dead do not die Heavenly Father, help us, when we are in a position to make the rules - over
and, in death, our life is changed - not ended. other people and over other aspects of creation - to measure the way we behave
We believe that all that binds us together by how much we can give, rather than how much we can take, like Jesus your
in love and friendship Son.
does not end with death. Amen.
Hear our prayers for _____
who has died.
As you have made each of us Martin Luther King said:
in your image and likeness 'The richer we have become materially,
and have called us by name, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually.
hold him/her safely in your love in your kingdom We have learned to fly the air like birds
of light, happiness and peace. and swim the sea like fish,
Amen. But we have not learned the simple art
of living together as brothers.'

In the footsteps of Jesus

Light of the world
Heavenly Father,
We thank you that you love us Jesus, Light of the World, you carry the light of God to us. Shine in our lives and
Whatever path we take or identity we assume. expose their dark corners to the searching light of God. Shine on the world and
Help us, wherever we can, expose the darkness of injustice, suffering and lack of love and make us strong to
To follow in the footsteps of your son, remove the darkness and let in the light that all may live and grow as the Father
Jesus Christ. intended.
Amen. Amen

Openness to God Say together 'The Lord's Prayer'. At the words “your kingdom come, your will
be done, on earth as in heaven,” pause to think about the challenge facing each
Heavenly Father, grant us open ears and an open heart, that we may always one of us to make this a reality and not just an empty phrase.
be able to listen to others and always be able to change and grow in response
to what we hear.
Amen. The words of St Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:

A Reflection
• Encourage pupils to close their eyes to avoid distraction
and to think about one goal or target that they have. It may be a personal
one, a sporting one, an academic one, a behavioral one, or...
• Ask them to look back over the last seven days and work
out whether they have grown nearer to achieving it, or are in the same place,
or are further away.
• Ask them to make a decision about what they will do as a
result of that thought.
'I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I
have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell. I may
have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all
secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains - but if I have no love,
I am nothing. I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to
be burnt - but if I have no love, this does me no good.
Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-
mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is
not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up… '
(Good News Bible)
 expectations for us. We may have great expectations for ourselves. Because we're
Darkness + light human we often get our expectations out of balance, we expect too much - or not
enough - of ourselves and those around us.
Lord, help us Christians believe that Jesus has great expectations of everyone, that everyone
to face the realities of your world, can become the person they were created to be, and that God loves the person we
including the dark presence of cruelty, really are. So let us think for a moment about what our expectations could really
prejudice and war within it. be, what gifts we have, what will truly help us become ourselves. If we get that
Help us, too, to live in right, it should help us to face whatever lies around the corner.
the light of your presence
and to make your love real.
Amen A Celtic Blessing

(Suitable for farewells)

A better life
May the road rise to meet you.
God, May the wind be always at your back.
Please help us to find the ways to make our lives and the lives of everyone May the sun shine warm upon your face.
around us more fulfilling. May the rains fall softly upon your fields
Help us try to do whatever we can until we meet again
to help you give us a better life. May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.
We ask for your advice and your guidance.
Thank You God.
Amen.
The main sources of these prayers were:

Lord, may we feel you with us, today and every day.
When we feel you with us, may we know that there is no room for retaliation
in our lives. May we understand more about the fear and ignorance that
makes person hate person, nation hate nation. May we allow time and space
for your words and wisdom to speak to our souls. Lord, may we hear you
next to us, today and every day, leading us to reconciliation.
And may we give thanks.
Amen.
http://www.prayingeachday.org/prayerlinks.html
http://www.painsley.org.uk/chapel/prayertreasury.htm
http://www.cbnosf.org/prayer_services.htm
“Glimpses Of God: Prayer for young adults” - Dom. Raphael
Appleby o.s.b. (1993, Kevin Mayhew)
Short daily themed liturgies can be found at
http://www.painsley.org.uk/chapel/daily.htm

Gift of peace

God who is called by many names,

Who is recognised in every corner of the world,
Give us peace wherever we may be -
At home or far from it,
With friends or in our loneliest moments.
Give us the peace that comes from feeling you near,
The peace that calms our needs and fears,
The peace that deepens our joy.
Amen.

Sensitivity to others

Lord, help us to take a step back from our everyday concerns with our own
likes and dislikes. Help us to remember that we are not the only people who
feel strongly about things, who feel they are right, who like to have things
comfortable or as we want them. Help us to remember that other people are
in some way part of us, that what happens to them affects us. Help us to be
sensitive to the needs of others.
Amen.

Guidance of the Holy Spirit

Jesus' message is still respected two thousand years after he lived because he
had integrity. People could trust him. His actions lived up to his words. He
did what was needed to help the oppressed. He knew how to deal with both
his close followers and those who trusted him. He helped those who were
not strong enough to face up to their responsibilities or their true selves.
Life does not always turn out as we would like.
We don't know what others will ask of us.
We don't know when we shall find ourselves in unlikely and uncomfortable
situations.
Let's pray that Holy Spirit, given by Jesus as a gift, may guide and help us in
all our journey through life, wherever it takes us.
Amen

The person you were created to be

No one can see around corners. No one knows what is going to happen in the
future. Other people may have views of what we should be like - great